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Description: MERCEDES BENZ
Used Car History reviews and guide on classic and older model cars. Including
car designers from Italy and Germany. Learn history of cars from classic,
exotic, used, new to prototype model cars.

MERCEDES BENZ

MERCEDES
BENZ Car Design History - Automobile manufacturer

Mercedes-Benz,
Germany's most famous automobile manufacturer surprised the market in
the late 1990s with a dramatic new design offensive. This took the form
of new developments such as the A-Class, the little Smart
car, and the SL, a purist contribution to the concept of the
roadster. Mercedes-Benz is the successor of Benz & Co., whose founder
Carl Benz invented the motor car. Mercedes-Benz was one
of the first companies to develop streamlined cars, such as the Simplex,
before World War I.

The
cars of the Stuttgart manufacturer became a status symbol in the 1920s.
This was largely due to the new S (Sport), SS (Super
Sport) and SSK (Super Sport kurz, with shorter wheelbase) models,
which boasted racing car features such as the long, extended hood from
which the chrome exhaust pipes snaked forth. The 1936 Mercedes 500
K was a more luxurious development in styling. Technically full of
ideas, with elegant flowing lines yet robust in appearance, it was the
paragon of the German concept of car body design. This elongated dream
car was created by Friedrich Geiger, and it was available
to a small, select clientele in a choice of burgundy red or sky blue.
During the 1930s Mercedes-Benz achieved a legendary status that reflected
the German people's belief in its superiority, when the gleaming metallic
racing cars known as the "silver arrows" dominated Grand Prix
racing in the years before World War II.

The
first innovative development after the war was the 180, which
had a new kind of structural body. Externally, it had nothing in common
with its predecessors, with one exception—the shape of the hood
had been preserved, although it was no longer necessary. The large radiator
grille adorned with the world famous three -pointed star in a circle now
became the distinctive feature of the marque and a symbol of tradition.
The most famous model of the 1950s was the 300 SL Coupe. This
was another design by Friedrich Geiger and had some spectacular features
such as the upward-opening doors, giving it the nick-named "gullwing",
and arc-shaped deflectors above the wheels. The hand-built sculptural
body had elements of the organic design that was fashionable at the time,
the first example being the Cisitalia Coupe of 1947 with Pininfanna
bodywork. The 300SL was the brainchild of Rudolf Uhlenhaut, the
engineer behind company's competition cars. Uhlenhaut, Geiger, the chief
designer Karl Wilfert, and the development engineer Bela Bareny
formed a team with the young Italian Bruno Sacco in the
late 1950s that provided Mercedes with the best possible knowledge and
experience in the field of design.

A severe
setback took place in the early 1960s, when the 220S model that
had been fitted with tail fins was banned from North America market. The
situation was restored by Wilfert and his men who created the 220
S Coupe, a car whose perfect proportions, especially the rear, made
it one of the most beautiful two-door coupes ever built. Even more innovative
was the 230 SL sports car, the creation of the innovative designer,
Bareny. The angular, functional car had what became known as a "pagoda
roof," with its unusual concave-convex construction.

In the
early 1970s, designers were given a free hand to create various concepts.
Bruno Sacco's C 111-3 prototype displayed the sharp lines that
would be typical of the models of the late 1970s and 1980s. The maxim
was that "a Mercedes should always look like a Mercedes-Benz, thus
creating a family of models. This principle e mphasizing the identity of
the brand was also applied to the 190 series (later known as
the E-Class), an innovation introduced in 1982. This was the
smallest Mercedes to date and it gave the company a foothold in a larger
market. The pronounced wedge shape reflecting the style of the time unmistakably
reveals the influence of Sacco's C 111-3 prototype.

When
Mercedes-Benz's market share began to drop, the company set about rethinking
the company's image and model policy. In the late 1980s, a new “advanced
design” department was created, gathering a group of creative minds
with an alternative approach to car design. The result was a sharper profile
for some series like the E-Class and the C-Class, whose
four striking elliptical headlights attracted much attention.

In the
late 1990s, the company, which was by now Germany's largest industrial
group and a global player, launched two radical new projects—the
Smart, a two-seater town car, and the A Class. Both
these models were aimed at a younger market, and they stood out with their
unusual proportions and post-modern styling. They were launched with considerable
marketing panache, although not without some initial problems. The family
of Mercedes models is likely to become even more varied in the future
under its new chief designer Peter Pfeiffer.

MERCEDES-BENZ
Car History

Daimler
Chrysler AG, Stuttgart

1896

Karl
Benz develops contra-engine, forerunner of boxer engine

1886

Karl
Benz builds patented morot vehicle

1902

Mercedes
name first used as a brand

1926

merger
of Daimler and Benz companies

1936

first
diesel passenger car

1975

Bruno
Sacco (in company since 1958) becomes head of design ("styling")
department

Site
Description: MERCEDES
BENZ Used Car History reviews and guide on classic and older model cars.
Including car designers from Italy and Germany. Learn history of cars
from classic, exotic, used, new to prototype model cars.